The global burden of chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a non-communicable disease usually caused by diabetes and hypertension. 1 Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of the early morbidity and mortality sustained by patients with CKD. The severity of CKD can be quantified by a low serum creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), which indicates excretory kidney function, and raised urinary albumin measured by the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), which is a marker of kidney damage. 2 The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes classification system for staging CKD is based on eGFR and ACR and is widely used in clinical practice.